The Merry Month of May!

Bread and cheese; no not a sandwich, nor a ploughmans, a pizza or a fancy foccacia. I'm talking about the young leaves and leaf buds of the native hawthorn. My father grew up in the then rural village of Robin Hood, near Wakefield in Yorkshire and he and his family and friends would refer to this hedgerow delicacy as a little bit of bread and cheese. 

I have done some research and it turns out that this was quite a common practice amongst country folk who would enjoy this slice of greenery, especially in times of poverty and famine throughout history. It is said to have a nutty taste although, as part of my research, I have tried a few pieces and, to be honest, they taste like leaves to me.

May celebrations go back a long way and the hawthorn has been quite central, symbolising fertility, new life and the start of the growing season. It is meant to be good for the heart when the dried berries and dried blossom are used in herbal remedies and good for affairs of the heart when the wood is turned into a talisman, wand or charm ball.

The rhyme "Here we go gathering nuts in May" probably refers to the "knots" of hawthorn blossom which were used to decorate the May-time celebrations. Maypole dancing was a favourite and I remember my sister doing it in the 1960s at a local park on quite a grand scale whilst my grandma made the dresses for the May Queen and her attendants. From the hawthorn being a sign of good luck and fertility it changed through time to become a tree of misfortune, abstinence and chastity. There would be no weddings held in May and the May Queen was a symbol of purity and innocence.

The hawthorn tree has many other names, the most common being the May Tree. Folklore has always held the tree in high regard and it is still to be respected today. There are stories of sewers and traffic having to be diverted around old hawthorn trees rather than them being cut down. The saying "Ne'er cast a clout til May be out" is probably a reference to the hawthorn blossom being out rather than the month of May ending.

So May has arrived but, as yet, the blossom here in Yorkshire has not. Whilst we wait we can always enjoy a little bit of bread and butter; for poor country folk and vegetarians everywhere.